We had a clean-out-the-fridge salad for lunch - lettuce, cucumber, grated carrot (extra from the chicken we roasted last week), and red onion, topped off with leftover falafel from last night. Yum! And the last tiny bit of carrot went into our bag of scraps for soup stock. No food waste in *this* house!

I've been pretty ill for the last few days and resisted the very strong temptation to have some food delivered. (Pretty much the only time I ever get delivery is when I'm miserably sick.) I also resisted going to the expensive grocery store down the street to get 'easy' food (prepared foods, frozen dinners, etc.). I haven't actually spent a penny since Thursday.

Hoping I feel better tomorrow because a diet of eggs, pantry staples and frozen vegetables is getting old :-)

I've been pretty ill for the last few days and resisted the very strong temptation to have some food delivered. (Pretty much the only time I ever get delivery is when I'm miserably sick.) I also resisted going to the expensive grocery store down the street to get 'easy' food (prepared foods, frozen dinners, etc.). I haven't actually spent a penny since Thursday.

Hoping I feel better tomorrow because a diet of eggs, pantry staples and frozen vegetables is getting old :-)

I hope you get better soon.

Make sure you freeze in left over food when you have it. Or make extra big portions on some days to create left overs. Label it with date and content and keep it in the freezer for those days that you don't want to cook.

Did some shopping yesterday almost entirely in gift cards. Stopped by Barnes and Noble as I'd heard they were having a clearance sale. Bought two books for $8 with a Christmas gift card, still have $7 left on it.

Went to Target after that and bought three sticks of my husband's deodorant since it was buy 3 get a $5 gift card. Bought him hair gel with a 10% of Cartwheel, and picked up the LED bulbs I need for my bathroom that have been burned out for weeks but I refused to buy without a sale. I used a 5% Cartwheel for those. I had $31 left on a Target gift card I was given for Christmas. After all the gift cards and sales, I spent .55 yesterday :)

I also picked up the Groupon deal for $5 for a $10 Target gift card last week. Target currently has $15 of a $50 home purchase (includes things like toilet paper) so I will probably combine those sales this week to stock up.

Yesterday I was tempted to take my SO for dinner because he has been helping me while I was not feeling well (we don't live together) instead to avoid breaking my no eating out streak I made him a delicious dinner. Shepherds pie with a ton of vegetables (including turnip in the mashed potato topping which was delicious) and a beet slaw salad, with almonds, goat cheese and homemade dressing.

I made enough of the pie to use as my lunch all week. The beets were a 5lb bag for $2.49 which I cooked and froze the majority of. I also used up a ton of frozen veggies in the pie, so I am continuing to eat down my food stores. 2 awesome dinners, lunches for a week and a giant ziplock of frozen beets less than $15 of ingredients.

I've been pretty ill for the last few days and resisted the very strong temptation to have some food delivered. (Pretty much the only time I ever get delivery is when I'm miserably sick.) I also resisted going to the expensive grocery store down the street to get 'easy' food (prepared foods, frozen dinners, etc.). I haven't actually spent a penny since Thursday.

Hoping I feel better tomorrow because a diet of eggs, pantry staples and frozen vegetables is getting old :-)

I hope you get better soon.

Make sure you freeze in left over food when you have it. Or make extra big portions on some days to create left overs. Label it with date and content and keep it in the freezer for those days that you don't want to cook.

Thanks. I tend to take leftovers to work for lunches instead of stocking up my freezer, since I have a microwave at work and not in my apartment. In general I'd rather make something simple/quick than thaw/reheat frozen leftovers and have to wash a bunch of dishes for a single serving of food. The lazy option is more like a sandwich or scrambled eggs. :-)

But I think I'm feeling well enough for a real grocery shop today, so I'll be living like a queen with fruit, vegetables and small portions of whatever meat is on sale.

Brought a leftover pack of cookies from home to work. Not the most attractive cookies, so at home the remainder of the pack doesn't get eaten and will only get old. Yesterday at work I almost fainted from hunger and didn't have any more bread or bananas. I was tempted to buy some snack at the cafeteria. But as I was sitting far away from the cafeteria I went to a local kitchen instead and looked for something to eat. I found a cracker. It might have been someone else's, so my sincere excuses for that, but I was really hungry. I eat it just like that without any topping. And then worked an extra half hour overtime.

Yesterday at work I almost fainted from hunger and didn't have any more bread or bananas. I was tempted to buy some snack at the cafeteria. But as I was sitting far away from the cafeteria I went to a local kitchen instead and looked for something to eat. I found a cracker. It might have been someone else's, so my sincere excuses for that, but I was really hungry. I eat it just like that without any topping. And then worked an extra half hour overtime.

A very small savings. I have a phone plan that allows me to save $2 a month for prepaying 90 days in advance. I also can refer people and save an additional $1 a month, per referral for as long as they are a customer. I just referred my second person! Finally after being a customer for a year they give you another dollar off a month. So next payment I will be saving a total of $5 per month on an already very economical plan.

A year ago I was paying $80 for a far inferior plan, so I am feeling pretty good since I now pay half that with better benefits and I have the opportunity to keep that price trending downwards.

While grocery shopping, I bypassed my normally dirt cheap wine for a new type that was deeply discounted to less than 4.00 a bottle. Its good, and though the sale won't last, I was grateful for the extra 1.50 savings that week ;)

Ebay-ing a bunch of small stuff. Books, party decor, handmade items, ect. I won't make much when you consider the per hour return, but I generally have more random free time on my hands than opportunities for extra cash. I'm also watching a couple kids for a few hours weekly through May. Its because of track season, and it again, won't net much. But its also practically no work....

Went all of this past month without a haircut. That won't last much longer, but an extra week is an extra week without the expense, right?

Have had amazing facial skin since switching to the oil cleansing method using castor oil. Coconut oil made me break out, and olive oil was just weird. The castor oil is the cheapest and thickest of them all, and it works beautifully. Seriously, people spend a hundred dollars at a time sometimes on the perfect skin stuff, and I get the most improvement I've ever seen with a hot wet washcloth and a 1.00 bottle of castor oil? People are doing this wrong...

Today in the mail I received coupons for, among other places, Noodles and Company, which is very close to my work. 3 of the 4 coupons were pretty typical, buy one get one free etc., but the last coupon was for a free entree, no strings attached. They are trying to push a new item. It would normally cost $8-9.

So I rushed back to the mailroom of my apartment complex, to the little pile where people discard unwanted circulars, and got 5 more. I have over a month to use them, but I'm pretty happy about 6 free lunches/dinners.

Made more yogurt. Since I bought milk at Costco for $1.95 per gallon, and that makes 1 liter of greek style yogurt, I saved over $10 vs buying the Fage greek yogurt my family normally plows through. I know it's not the first time I've mentioned it here, but I still love it.

* Wanted to get a shopping-cart cover so my 6mo can more easily join me for grocery shopping. Found one of high-quality at the local resale store and used a store credit to take it home for 0 out of pocket.

* Stupid pocket gopher keeps gnawing on the roots of the parsley in the garden. He has chopped down three plants so far, so I've been rescuing the tops at least and using them to make Bieler's broth/green soup.

Have had amazing facial skin since switching to the oil cleansing method using castor oil. Coconut oil made me break out, and olive oil was just weird. The castor oil is the cheapest and thickest of them all, and it works beautifully. Seriously, people spend a hundred dollars at a time sometimes on the perfect skin stuff, and I get the most improvement I've ever seen with a hot wet washcloth and a 1.00 bottle of castor oil? People are doing this wrong...

Interesting! I have never heard of this, but have a bottle kicking around. Just looked up some information about how to use it and I'm going to give it a try. Thanks!

*Homemade deoderant continues to work great and is so very cheap! (coconut oil, baking soda and essential oils - pinterest)

*Homemade shampoo also working wonderfully. I think I'm at the two year mark with this (water and baking soda, ratio: 1 cup to 1 tablespoon)

*Made a double loaf of French Bread and started another bowl of dough (Artisan Bread in 5 recipe - flour, water, salt, yeast - sits in the fridge for up to 2 weeks until I'm ready to make bread or pizza dough)

*Used up a bunch of random vegetables to make roasted vegetables with our roasted chicken for dinner (tossed veggies in olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then dumped on sea salt, pepper, loads of rosemary and garlic)

*Kept the furnace down even though I wanted to turn it up when I was feeling chllly.

Today in the mail I received coupons for, among other places, Noodles and Company, which is very close to my work. 3 of the 4 coupons were pretty typical, buy one get one free etc., but the last coupon was for a free entree, no strings attached. They are trying to push a new item. It would normally cost $8-9.

So I rushed back to the mailroom of my apartment complex, to the little pile where people discard unwanted circulars, and got 5 more. I have over a month to use them, but I'm pretty happy about 6 free lunches/dinners.

That is a great score! Congrats! I'm going to have to start looking at coupons ... they usually just go straight into the recycling

Bought a new car today (won't go into details, but it was necessary). Negotiated like a tough mofo and got the price down by quite a bit - husband was in awe, and grateful that I told him to sit back and follow my lead on the haggling.

Separately, negotiated a far better trade-in on the old car than was offered. Still probably could have done better with a private sale, but heavily pregnant and with two demanding jobs, we decided we weren't up for that if we could get a good enough price from the dealer.

Husband's six-or-seven-year-old jeans had ripped irreparably in several places and today the crotch developed a 15cm long rip (as he sat down in the car to test drive it - great timing). Used a gift card to get him a new pair with no out of pocket cost. Hoping this pair lasts just as long!

Filed my taxes online, found a coupon for 20% off, so I saved a few dollars. My refund while very small was a little bit more then I estimated so that's a surprise bonus!

I buy a specific type of laundry soap (Nellies) in a huge 16.6kg tub that I split with my SO (who doesn't live with me) it lasts each of us about 2.5 years. Last time we bought it a few years ago it was just over 100 dollars, shipped with taxes. Well we aren't quite done, but the price has gone up and I just realized they were having a $20 off sale (rarely happens) so I bought us a new tub for $90 shipped with taxes. So for $45 I have enough soap for the next 2.5 years!

Although I feel really ungrateful for doing it- I'm returning all the "fun to haves" and "isn't this cute" things I got at my baby shower.

I'll rebuy them if it turns out I need them (and price shop and/or look for used), and in the mean time will hang onto the gift card until I figure out what necessities I might still need.

I mean, yeah- the baby would look adorable in that, but I have lots of clothes (way way way too many... I may have a problem when it comes to buying large lots at really really low prices). Or that particular stuffed animal might be amazing, but we'll find out when I get to that stage. And that changing pad cover is adorable- but I have some hand me downs already...

Noticed my apples rang up too high. Turns out, the bin was mixed, and 2/4 were a more expensive variety. $2.99/lb. Uhhhhh NO, what I was buying was $1.29/lb! So I went back, swapped those two out, and saved a couple bucks. Worth it. (We won't discuss the $$$$$ in wine I was also buying on the trip, hahaha- although to my credit some of it is box wine, so... frugal?)

Shopped around before going to get my passport photo, so it was $8.99 instead of the $12-14 most places charged. (I know there are apps, etc, but I don't trust those, I don't have time to risk it getting rejected!)

Followed through on my "free return" option for the bras that didn't fit.

I saved someone else money. Got a limited time free meal at Huhot. It expires before I deliver and that type of restaurant is too hard to do with gestational diabetes. So a friend used my phone number to get a free meal that I couldn't.

On am also doing well at bringing lunch. In the beginning of the year, when I just started, I still bought lunch at work once a week. Now my lunch vouches are used up and I haven't bought new ones. I have been eating homemade lunch for 2 weeks in a row now.I must have saved a lot now, for 8 weeks eating my own lunch 4 to 5 days a week.

Although I feel really ungrateful for doing it- I'm returning all the "fun to haves" and "isn't this cute" things I got at my baby shower.

I'll rebuy them if it turns out I need them (and price shop and/or look for used), and in the mean time will hang onto the gift card until I figure out what necessities I might still need.

I mean, yeah- the baby would look adorable in that, but I have lots of clothes (way way way too many... I may have a problem when it comes to buying large lots at really really low prices). Or that particular stuffed animal might be amazing, but we'll find out when I get to that stage. And that changing pad cover is adorable- but I have some hand me downs already...

I don't blame you a bit. It makes my eye twitch a little bit when I go to baby showers and the mom-to-be is gifted a ton of newborn size clothes and newborn size diapers. I'm always thinking to myself that god forbid the baby is big because it won't even be able to fit into any of that. I always try to gift 3-6 month size diapers.

Although I feel really ungrateful for doing it- I'm returning all the "fun to haves" and "isn't this cute" things I got at my baby shower.

I'll rebuy them if it turns out I need them (and price shop and/or look for used), and in the mean time will hang onto the gift card until I figure out what necessities I might still need.

I mean, yeah- the baby would look adorable in that, but I have lots of clothes (way way way too many... I may have a problem when it comes to buying large lots at really really low prices). Or that particular stuffed animal might be amazing, but we'll find out when I get to that stage. And that changing pad cover is adorable- but I have some hand me downs already...

I don't blame you a bit. It makes my eye twitch a little bit when I go to baby showers and the mom-to-be is gifted a ton of newborn size clothes and newborn size diapers. I'm always thinking to myself that god forbid the baby is big because it won't even be able to fit into any of that. I always try to gift 3-6 month size diapers.

Extremely wise. To me, stuffed animals are the worst gifts... take up space, collect dust (which triggers asthma in my household), not played with very much, and hard to get rid of because they have faces (Kids: "Nooooo!! You can't give Peter Panda away! He'll be scared!!!") When I was a young parent, I much would rather have had the money for a babysitter, a decent baby carrier, or some cloth diapers.

I sent my nephew and his wife a huge package of newborn diapers through Amazon. They sent me a heartwarming thank-you. (You could almost see tear stains on the email.) It turned out they were horrifically sleep deprived and fresh out of diapers, and this giant box magically appeared on their doorstep.

I used to work in child development circles, and got to hear the perspectives of developmental therapists, OT's, SLP's and behaviour therapists about stuffed animals. They weren't our staff's favourite toys, mainly because many of the parents we worked with were not sure what to do with them - my understanding is that they are most helpful as toys when the parents help the children interact with them. Here's a couple of articles I found quickly, that give examples.

Yesterday, I was looking at the bottle of lotion on my bedside table. I like to keep one there because my hands are often dry, so I like to put some on before I go to bed.

Pros: It sinks in quickly and leaves my hands not greasy. Cons: It's cheap, smells too strong, and has a screw on cap instead of a pump.

Frankly, I haven't been using it, so I was trying to decide whether to throw it out and switch out for another bottle of lotion that I have in my stash.

Instead, I found a partial bottle of another lotion that I like better and that was in a pump bottle, and combined them in proportions that I was happy with. Bonus - the other lotion left my hands a bit greasy, and now it doesn't! And I will actually use it.

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'To be human you must bear witness to justice. Justice is what love looks like in public." Dr. Cornel West

I used to work in child development circles, and got to hear the perspectives of developmental therapists, OT's, SLP's and behaviour therapists about stuffed animals. They weren't our staff's favourite toys, mainly because many of the parents we worked with were not sure what to do with them - my understanding is that they are most helpful as toys when the parents help the children interact with them. Here's a couple of articles I found quickly, that give examples.

Yesterday, I was looking at the bottle of lotion on my bedside table. I like to keep one there because my hands are often dry, so I like to put some on before I go to bed.

Pros: It sinks in quickly and leaves my hands not greasy. Cons: It's cheap, smells too strong, and has a screw on cap instead of a pump.

Frankly, I haven't been using it, so I was trying to decide whether to throw it out and switch out for another bottle of lotion that I have in my stash.

Instead, I found a partial bottle of another lotion that I like better and that was in a pump bottle, and combined them in proportions that I was happy with. Bonus - the other lotion left my hands a bit greasy, and now it doesn't! And I will actually use it.

Pump bottles are great for saving money. I have my sunblock in a pump bottle by my sink. It dispenses exactly the right amount, so there's no waste. Sunblock is absolutely necessary for Florida, and seeing it there means I use it every day.

I used to work in child development circles, and got to hear the perspectives of developmental therapists, OT's, SLP's and behaviour therapists about stuffed animals. They weren't our staff's favourite toys, mainly because many of the parents we worked with were not sure what to do with them - my understanding is that they are most helpful as toys when the parents help the children interact with them. Here's a couple of articles I found quickly, that give examples.

Yesterday, I was looking at the bottle of lotion on my bedside table. I like to keep one there because my hands are often dry, so I like to put some on before I go to bed.

Pros: It sinks in quickly and leaves my hands not greasy. Cons: It's cheap, smells too strong, and has a screw on cap instead of a pump.

Frankly, I haven't been using it, so I was trying to decide whether to throw it out and switch out for another bottle of lotion that I have in my stash.

Instead, I found a partial bottle of another lotion that I like better and that was in a pump bottle, and combined them in proportions that I was happy with. Bonus - the other lotion left my hands a bit greasy, and now it doesn't! And I will actually use it.

Pump bottles are great for saving money. I have my sunblock in a pump bottle by my sink. It dispenses exactly the right amount, so there's no waste. Sunblock is absolutely necessary for Florida, and seeing it there means I use it every day.

Exactly, pbkmaine. Plus, I often forget to put on the lotion before I get in bed, and I'll be lying there trying to fall asleep and thinking that my hands feel dry, but fussing with the bottle and cap is not going to happen. So this way, I'll actually use it!

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'To be human you must bear witness to justice. Justice is what love looks like in public." Dr. Cornel West

I sent my nephew and his wife a huge package of newborn diapers through Amazon. They sent me a heartwarming thank-you. (You could almost see tear stains on the email.) It turned out they were horrifically sleep deprived and fresh out of diapers, and this giant box magically appeared on their doorstep.

I have one box of newborn diapers, but with couponing I've been stocking up on 1-4s. I'll get more NB when I know if my daughter wears that size at all.

But a magical diaper delivery sounds like heaven.

(The stuffed animal I returned was one of the leap frog ones that knows your kids name and asks them questions and stuff. I actually only got one regular stuffed animal, which was impressive. But I can always buy the fancy one again- it's only like $15 if we need a toy when she is older.)

Awhile I go I ordered a pair of soccer cleats for my son who wears a size 17. As you can imagine there not cheap BUT I found a company that Starts at size 15 and there prices were good and they claimed to offer no hassel refunds. We have had problems for the last couple years since he was a size 14 and its only gotten worse. Anyhow, he got them, tried them on at an indoor practice for one hour and they just didnt fit. Put them in the box and returned them. They sent an email and said they could not r.efund them and they will send them back. In the meantime I had ordered another pair because we needed them for a tournament. Well I sent them a nice email about there pledge on returns and described all he did was try them on for an hour and indoor (no way did these shoes look worn in fact they looked the way we got them). They didnt respond. I got them back and yea..was just livid. So i re-read there return policy and sent them an email about the things that I felt they needed to change in there false advertising. Never heard from them but got a full credit that appeared on my card via mint. He will be able to use the cleats just fine but will need to let them break in a little longer is all. Power of the pen and something I don't usually do BUT this cleat thing has stressed us out the last couple of years. Glad it will be his college problem next year. We have even tried a cobbler stiching them to make stronger to no prevail. arghhh...

I combined a whole bunch of errands into one trip, despite the hassle of having to get my toddler in and out of the car several times.

I picked up a new pair of running shoes for my DH since his were falling apart and the running store was having a 25% off sale. I'm cautiously hopeful that they will help with some foot pain he has been experiencing.

I'm making vegetarian enchiladas for dinner tonight. Fish may be traditional for Fridays in Lent, but vegetables are cheaper.

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"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts."

Earlier this week in the forums someone mentioned that Fidelity and Schwab were lowering trade commissions from $9.95 per trade down to $4.95, so I started looking into moving my accounts over.

It occurred to me that my current brokerage optionsXpress might want to retain my business so I sent an email that took me 30 seconds to compose, they replied back within an hour matching the $4.95 rate AND threw in 5 free trades!

Nice, one email saved me almost $50 in trades (Well, $25 at the new rate) and half the rate going forward.

Canceled Netflix because I'm paying for Amazon prime anyway. They have a yuge selection.Did this a couple of months ago, but also switched to Amazon music which is included with prime membership as well. With that and podcasts, never run out of interesting sounds to listen to.